Comparing Cicones And The Cattle Of The Sun Episode In The Odyssey

Odysseus has been held in Polyphemus’s cave for some time now, so he devises a plan of escape. Odysseus speaks out to his crew for help saying “Who’d brave it out with me to hoist our stake and grind it into his eye.” (221) This foreshadows Odysseus and his crew grinding the stake into the cyclops eye, ultimately leading to the crew's escape. As his journey home escalates and challenges become harder, Odysseus is faced with the ultimatum for the The Cattle of The Sun. Prior to his decision he is warned “Leave the beast unharmed, your mind set on home, and you all may still reach Ithaca-but harm them in any way, and I can see it now: your ship destroyed, your men destroyed as well, and even if you escape, you'll come home late, all shipmates lost, and come a broken man.” (275) Homer includes the foreshadowing of the blind prophet's statement, informing spectators of the two possible outcomes based off Odysseus and his crew's choice. Before the slaughter of the suitors has even occurred, Homer foreshadows the event vaguely. As the suitors continue to disrespect Odysseus it is brought to their attention that, “Once under his own roof, he and your friends, believe you me, won’t part till blood has flowed” (380) The foreshadowment is obvious when stated “won't part till blood has flowed”, implying that in time to come Odysseus will not part from the suitors unless blood has been

When they pass through the great monster whose name is Scylla and eats men off ships, and pass through the treacherous whirlpool of Charybdis, a man who is called by the name of Eurylochus, persuades Odysseus’ men to go butcher and eat the Cattle of the Sun God even though Odysseus told them that, “the cattle here are not for our provision, / or we pay dearly for it” (12. 855-56). Odysseus did not tell them that they were going to die as their consequence so when they disobeyed his command, Zeus kills every single one of them. Furthermore, when Odysseus, “sent out two picked men and a runner / to learn what race of men that land sustained” (9. 202-03), they came back lazy and without

Here he was willing to walk straight into danger and willing to sacrifice himself for his crew. Yes he had to give in to her desires and bed Circe, but this was all within the grand scheme of things, to show her that she could not do to him what she had done to his men, again with some help from the gods. Also, in exchange for him agreeing to sleep with her, she had to agree to undo the spell from his men. Mission accomplished, and they journeyed on, with the help of Circe even. However, For all of his great heroic feats, his accomplishments on the battlefield and his cunning ways, and his willingness to put himself in arms way to save his men, time and time again Odysseus showed us how earthly and human he was by the many temptation to which he succumbed. In book 12, prior to his departure from the island of Circe, Odysseus was warned of the Sirens and was told that he nor his men should allow themselves to listen to the song of the Sirens. However, Circe gave him an alternative so that he could listen to the song without succumbing to its effects. "but if you yourself have a mind to listen, have them bind you hand and foot upright in the mast-step and tie the end of the rope to the mast. then you can enjoy the song of the Sirens" (468). Upon hearing this Odysseus could not help himself, he had to exercise the option and heed to the temptation of hearing the songs of the Sirens.

Book Nine of The Odyssey tells of the encounter between Odysseus and the Cyclops. Homer portrays revenge through violent measures in Odysseus deceiving and blinding the Cyclops. He deceived Polyphemus (one of the Cyclopes) by lying to him and inebriating him. This is revenge for the Cyclops not being hospitable as was customary in the times by eating Odysseus’s men. “I’ll eat the others first! That’s my gift to you!” exclaimed Polyphemus as his form of “hospitality”. Odysseus used a fiery stake and “bored it round in the giant’s eye”. But many may argue that Homer was portraying the theme of justice rather than revenge. There is a blurred line between justice and revenge and it is up to interpretation. It is up for interpretation because

Although at first glance, Odysseus doesn’t seem to care about his crew, he in fact truly does, as seen through his experiences with Circe, this is because he really cares about his men a great deal. Based on Odyseusses’ actions towards his men during his interactions with Circe, he seems to not truly

The example of Odysseus’ raid on the city of the Cicones—and the loss of six men from his ships that results from it—shows a starting point in Odysseus’ evolution of humility by showing a a pre-suffering few of Odysseus—that of a man who encourages the sacking of a city—and a post initial dose suffering view of the same man—a man who blames his crew for the aforementioned suffering instead of taking responsibility himself. On his path home from the Trojan War, the fighter Odysseus—still filled with the greed and seeming invincibility of a victor came across a set of bystanders to the war known as the Cicones “There [he] sacked the[ir] city, killed the[ir] men, but as for the[ir]

At first it appears as though the only reason Odysseus sleeps with Circe is to regain his companions, but she easily persuades them to stay. And what’s even worse is the fact that Odysseus isn’t even the first one ready to go. His men are the ones who urge him to leave: "What ails you now? It is time to think about our own country". So though at a glance it appears that Odysseus is merely succumbing to Circe’s schemes for reasons related to their health and well-being, if we read between the lines, we soon begin to realize that Odysseus is weak in the voracious hands of lust.

Appearing as an epic hero in The Odyssey, Odysseus is an iconic figure in ancient Greek culture and stories. He is portrayed as mighty, great, and powerful. However, what every one sees or thinks they see is just what’s on the surface. “Moralists grew angry in disputing whether he was a ‘good’ man or not-good, that is to say, according to the varying principles” (Stanford). Stanford is trying to explain that depending on people’s values they see or portray Odysseus in many different ways. It is hard to say whether he is bad or good because the author of The Odyssey, Homer, “ Is content to portray a man of many turns” (Stanford). Homer intended to portray Odysseus as this complex character that is not just one sided,

This time spent on Circe's island was a test of whether he could resist lust from a goddess, and he fails. At first it appears as though the only reason Odysseus sleeps with Circe is to regain his companions, but she easily persuades them to stay. What makes it worse is the fact that Odysseus is not even the first one ready to go. His men are the ones who urge him to leave: "What ails you now? It is time to think about our own country" (Book X, line 472). At a glance, it appears that Odysseus is merely succumbing to Circe's schemes for reasons related to their health and well being, if we read between the lines, we soon begin to realize that Odysseus is weak in the voracious hands of lust. Odysseus arrives on Calypso's island in her cave. At first, it seems like Odysseus doesn't seem much to mind her taking care of him, but over time it is plainly evident that he is unhappy with her. When Hermes arrives on Calypso's island to give her the message from Zeus to release Odysseus, he is bawling on the beach-- a daylong activity for him. Calypso is holding him with her by force; she has no companions to help him back to Ithaca, nor has she a ship to send him in. Athena pleads with Zeus to give Odysseus good fortune,

Not only does Odysseus’ decisions lead to the death of crewmates, his choices also brutalize innocent people. He lacks the control to restrain himself and his crew from pointless violence. At the first stop on the journey, the land of the Kikones, the king and his crew “stormed that place and killed the men who fought.” (146) Extending their barbarism, they plundered and “enslaved the women, to make division, equal share to all”. (146) Odysseus has no control of reason, causing irrational bloodshed and atrocities upon mere strangers.

There comes a point in the story where Odysseus and his men are constantly bombarded with offerings for food, comfort and a long happy life. Upon leaving Aeolus’ island for the second time and quickly escaping the Laestrygonians, Odysseus and his crew stumble upon Circe’s island of Aeaea. After a few tribulations with Circe the men are all comforted, bathed and fed for a years time. The crew stays on Circe’s island for an entire year, and are tempted to spend the rest of their days with her (10. 327-8). Odysseus is also tempted considering he lives there, with her, in her bed for an entire year. Yet, even this great temptation is put aside and the men, unhappily, cast off from Circe’s island. Not long after, Odysseus would end up shipwrecked and alone on Calypso’s island. Odysseus is supposed to be being held against his will on Calypso’s island. Yet, when someone lives somewhere for over five years and does

First of all, Odysseus was very selfish during their journey back to Ithaca. For example,“We lit a fire, burnt an offering, and we took some cheese to eat; then sat in silence around the embers, waiting”(Homer 219-222). If Odysseus took the cheese and left, his men would not have had to dealt with Polyphemus. He put himself before his men because he wanted a gift from the cave owner. Odysseus was also selfish when he sailed near the lands of Sirens.“Steer wide; keep well to seaward; plug your oarsmen’s ears with beeswax kneaded soft”(Homer 669-671). Although Circe told Odysseus to steer clear of the area, Odysseus wanted to be known as the man who survived a Siren’s song. He put his own men in danger just because he wanted to become famous. Odysseus was also very arrogant to think that he could get past the Sirens.

So when the Cicones gather an army from inland to ward off the Greek invaders, Odysseus loses many men and rather than acknowledge his error in judgment, he shifts the blame of the defeat to his crew. Convincing himself that he is not at fault for having been defeated, but rather his selfish crew who refused to leave, he justifies his actions, “Then I urged them to cut and run, set sail, but would they listen? Not those mutinous; there was too much wine to swill, too many sheep to slaughter”(9.50-52). Odysseus knows that if he stays on the island, the Cicones will rally an army and come to kill Odysseus and his men. Despite this, he stays and reassures himself that the major defeat was by Zeus’ hand, “Zeus presented us with disaster us, me and my comrades doomed to suffer”(9.61-62). Homer teaches us that no matter how many great accolades one holds, they are destined to fail if they cannot own up to their mistakes and actions.

Odysseus raid in Cicones’ stronghold foreshadows what happens in the Cyclops cave, as Odysseus, “urged them to cut and run, set sail,/but would they listen? Not those mutinous fools”(Homer 9.51-52.) After they don’t leave they are attacked and lose their men and in the end of both of these events it ends with, “we sailed on, glad to escape our death yet sick at heart for the dear companions we had lost”(Homer 9.71-72, 9.629-630.) Even though these two events are heavily connected there is one difference and that is who is saying to go back to the ship. This portrays a clear sign that both of these are connected as Homer only repeats phrases that are connected with each other and with them following the same structure the events in Cicones foreshadow the cyclops’s cave. The only difference is who is saying to go back to ship. Odysseus had wanted to go back in Cicones while his men wanted to go back in the cave. His men had almost stopped him from fighting a Cyclops and in turn having an immortal god of the sea hate him. The same men he had called, “mutinous fools” for not listening to each other. The only way to make Odysseus not look at fault would be to make Polyphemus appear as uncivilized making Odysseus’s idea of waiting making more

Odysseus proves his selfishness by disregarding any advice given to him by others and doing what he thinks will have the best outcome for himself. His egocentric attitude continues to be portrayed as he puts his health and well-being before his men. Aeolus, ruler of the winds, presents Odysseus with a bag of wind to guide him and his crew home, but instead of putting his pride aside and letting his men know what it is, he lets their imagination take over to where they assume it is filled with treasure that he is selfishly taking for himself. Although he was not actually taking treasure, it is selfish of him to keep this information from his men knowing they will open it. He puts all the blame on them when he says, ‘My coward comrades did me in’ (10.71). Odysseus could have easily prevented this, but he was too stubborn. Along their way home, the crew docks on Helios’ island where they are advised not to eat the cattle, but while Odysseus was away attempting to call on the gods, they sacrificed the best cows. A good leader would have explained to them consequences, but he was only worried about his own personal agenda. Because of this, Zeus punishes them when he says, ‘As for those sinners, I’ll soon strike their ship/with blazing lightning’ (12.394-395). These instances cause his